About the project

Exciting changes are coming to Pike and Pine in downtown Seattle. As part of the Waterfront Seattle Program, the City of Seattle's Office of the Waterfront and the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) are leading the design of Pike Pine Renaissance: Act One. The first phase (Act One) of this multi-year effort seeks to improve the pedestrian experience and connect Pike and Pine to the waterfront – from Pike Place Market to Capitol Hill. The City will construct these improvements as a part of the Waterfront Seattle Program.

This stretch of downtown features shopping, dining, entertainment and recreation. The area is home to Pike Place Market, Westlake Park, the Washington State Convention Center and the city's second biggest transit hub, at Westlake Station. People from across Seattle and beyond visit Pike and Pine each day to work, shop and play.

Act One of the Pike Pine Renaissance will capture the spirit of DSA's 2013 Pike Pine Renaissance Streetscape Design Vision. It will also achieve a key objective of Waterfront Seattle: to improve east-west connections between the waterfront and surrounding neighborhoods. Together with the community, we will enhance this vital corridor – to create a comfortable, more inviting space for all to enjoy.

Project area

Pike Pine Renaissance: Act One will include design of improvements along Pike and Pine between First and Melrose avenues in downtown Seattle. The City of Seattle will construct these improvements as a part of the Waterfront Seattle Program.

Guiding principles

Pike and Pine should have a strong and distinct identity. The design choices in this project should reinforce their role as the primary east-west pedestrian streets in downtown.

Pike and Pine should offer a generous, safe and continuous pedestrian experience from Capitol Hill to Pike Place Market and the waterfront.

Pike and Pine should provide a vibrant stage for enjoying city life, whether for getting from place to place or for staying activities such as eating, drinking and people watching.

Pike and Pine should be addressed as a whole – the uses and facades along the street are as important to success as the design of the public realm. Design enhancements should foster stewardship and activation by adjacent users, property owners and tenants. Pedestrian improvements should also complement elements of related corridor projects, such as transit and bicycle infrastructure.

Concept design

We released our concept design in October 2017. The concept design is informed by existing conditions, public feedback, discussions with area stakeholders and coordination with related projects.

Click the concept design map to enlarge.

To learn more about the concept design, view the display boards from the October 3, 2017 concept design open house.

Designing with the community

The process of designing pedestrian improvements for Pike and Pine began in late 2016 and will continue into mid-2019. To ensure the design is informed by community input, we will invite Seattle-area residents to a series of events, including public meetings and pop-up events, at public spaces along Pike and Pine. These events are free and open to all. Our second public meeting was held on October 3, 2017. The first public meeting was held in January 2017. See below for details on the first and second public meetings.

Additionally, in late 2016, we formed a project sounding board. Sounding board participants represent a broad constituency of Pike and Pine stakeholders – including property owners, residents, business owners, urban designers and community leaders – many of whom participated in the Pike Pine Renaissance Streetscape Design Vision in 2013. Visit the Related Documents section below to download materials from previous sounding board meetings.

Project timeline and opportunities for public engagement

We reached our first design milestone, concept design, in October 2017. The concept design incorporated input gathered from the first public meeting and the sounding board. The community had the opportunity to give input on the concept design at a public meeting on October 3, 2017, and continued to provide feedback on an interactive website between October 3 – 24, 2017. The design team will then further develop the concept to intermediary milestones, 30 percent, 60 percent and 90 percent design. We anticipate developing a complete design plan (100 percent) in mid-2019. Public meetings, sounding board meetings and public pop-up events will be held throughout the process.

Concept design open house

The Office of the Waterfront and DSA held a public open house to share the concept design of Pike Pine Renaissance: Act One:

At the public meeting, participants learned about the concept design for pedestrian improvements to Pike and Pine streets. The concept design is informed by public feedback from our January 2017 open house, discussions with area stakeholders and coordination with related projects. For those who were unable to attend the in-person open house, we hosted an interactive online open house where the public could share their feedback on the project from October 3 - 24, 2017. In the coming weeks, we will be updating this summary with public feedback from the interactive online open house.

Project kick-off event

The Office of the Waterfront and DSA held a public open house to kick-off Act One of the Pike Pine Renaissance:

Tuesday, Jan. 17, 5-7 PM

ACT Theatre, Bullitt Cabaret, 700 Union St.

At the public meeting, participants learned about the project, and shared their Pike and Pine experience, including how the use they area today and their vision for the future. For those who were unable to attend the in-person open house, we hosted an interactive online open house where the public could share their feedback on the project from January 24 - February 14, 2017. Read the feedback summary of the January 17 open house below, in the Related Documents section.